peteb

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1393889960' post='2385624'] Look out for a used one in the US. If there's a dealer with a used or ex-demo one then they can ship outside of US. [/quote] A few years ago, I actually got a quote from Bass Central for shipping a used Musicman over here. I didn’t go ahead with it in the end but they seemed more than happy to deal with me and ship to Blighty...

You may wish to show your guitar player the following YouTube clip, where a seemingly slightly drunk Nuno goes through the main guitar parts and solo – showing you how to pay them properly! You might find it useful for some of the unison runs as well. Probably not the easiest song in the world to cover…! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU5PCcrjmAk There are also clips of him running thru other songs of the Pornograffitti album. Really shows you what a great guitar player he is…

Round here cover bands on pub gigs are expected to go on on at 9.30 (gig o'clock as it is often known), play for 45 minutes and take a longish break to allow punters to have a chat then go back on at 11.00 to finish exactly at midnight. This is what most landlords generally want and bands structure their sets accordingly. This tried and tested approach seems to keep the most punters there until the bar closes. You may lose a few who have to leave early but you can't please everyone can you? Seems to me that the band you saw had been pretty professional about it and got the set timings spot on...

Just count yourself fortunate that your new office is not on an industrial estate in Warwick...!

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1392045603' post='2363959'] Have I been lucky and not realised it? Is there some kind of Monster cable lottery that I have won without even realising? Is mine the 1 in 10 that makes the grade? I bought it from a shop in Norwich, and just assumed it would work . I was right ! As far as I can tell, that is... [/quote] Actually I have been using Monster cables for years with no problems at all; they’re excellent (thru rather expensive). However, just to ensure that I am not too far away from the herd – I do use obbm speaker cables, which are really good as everybody here will testify…

Prefer stage right with a right sided drummer, as favoured by Billy Sheehan and many other hard rock bass players – allows you to hear / feel the bass drum better. Conventional wisdom these days seems to insist that you should set up on the hi-hat side...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1391179690' post='2354229'] Yes, that really sucks giant mythical plums. And it's usually because the first time the 'singer' has 'sung' it is at ****** rehearsal!! [/quote] Or the first time they have tried to sing the songs with a band behind them! Surely the answer to 'how many rehearsals' should be as many as you need! That will depend on how complex the arrangements are and how closely you are going to stick to the recorded versions, how much you are going to do withe the BVs (which can take take up most of the rehearsal time IME), not to mention any singer and key issues! Of course, if you have already played together and have done the songs before then you won't need many rehearsals...

I had one for a while. Nice idea but stopped working after a few months...

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1390910075' post='2351073'] So what are you suggesting, some sort of union closed shop that only allows 'good' bands to play anywhere? [/quote] If only that was possible...

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1390421828' post='2345347'] Hi Pete! How is the jazz? I think you'd probably have to get a ultimate gs100 or a hercules gs414b or 415b, something that hangs from the headstock rather than resting on the base. [/quote] Hi Oli The jazz is a bit different from how you may remember it now – it has had a couple of visits to John Shuker’s place and undergone a bit of fret dressing in addition to currently sporting a Schaller bridge, Bartolini pickups and a John East circuit. It looks and sounds great, although possibly a touch on the heavy side! I already have one of the larger Hercules stands but wondered if anyone knew of a smaller stand that would fit into a gig bag but still be able to accommodate a jazz. I have already left the stand at a gig once and tend now to use a MB Basskeeper, but wouldn’t mind finding a suitable smaller stand (if one exists)!

Does anybody have any suggestions for a compact stand that will hold a jazz bass securely without the arm catching on the jack if the bass is plugged in??

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1390241300' post='2343053'] Measured my hand ok from first to last little finger full stretch is 15 cm. But if I turn my hand like I was holding the bass my stretch is 12 cm uncomfortable max. I don't know how that measures up to others lol. [/quote] Exactly the same as me and I have been gigging regularly for nearly 35 years! I've never needed a bigger stretch in all that time. Keep doing your chromatic 'one finger per fret' exercises and you will be fine...

I had a SWR Goliath Sr, which was a great cab - only sold it (on here) because I changed car and couldn't fit it in the back! The Berg NV610 is also a brilliant cab, one of the best I've ever played thru...

American pro touring drummer, Layla Hall, is doing a drum clinic at Guitar Zone in Halifax on Saturday (18 January). I believe that ticket prices are a very reasonable £5 and it all kicks off at 4.00pm. I will be playing in her backing band along with Anglo-Irish blues guitar player Paddy Maguire. Layla is quite different from most of her contemporaries; not least because most road hardened drummers are generally not rather petit slips of a girl! Any drummers here will not fail to be impressed by her technique and grove, whilst others will marvel at her playing the drumset with her dreads and other party tricks! Later on, we will be reconvening at the Cross Keys in Siddal (just outside Halifax town centre) where we will be joined by a few selected guests for an evening’s musical entertainment. These include Lorna Fothergill on Vocals (Northsyde), Jules Fothergill on Guitar (Northsyde), Jenna Hooson on Vocals (The Jenna Hooson Band), Sean Fitzpatrick on Drums (Gerry & The Pacemakers), Marcus Lazarus on Guitar (Band on The Run) and hopefully a couple of special guests who are rather well known on the national (and international) blues scene…

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1389611061' post='2336000'] I wanted to buy a house and I recalled people who were considered as not so capable at school having all these things around the age of 30... That is when I realised that you needed an income 52 weeks a year. Earning 'good' money in a week wasn't so much the problem...but being able to do it week-in, week-out was... To this day, this is still very true with all my 'pro' mates. Also, I didn't know, or wasn't as confident as to how good you had to be... I am far more comfortable with that equation now...but am not remotely interested in it.. having said that........... should a good tour come along, yes, I'd do it.. but that is because I can afford to. [/quote] Pretty much this - it seems to be pretty much feast or famine for my 'pro' mates and these days the feasts do not seem to be as big as they used to be! Many of them would like to have a day job that gave them a regular income and allowed them to play music they liked rather than constantly stuff they hate in function bands. Of course it is difficult to suddenly find a worthwhile day job from scratch when you are in your 40s/50s and spent the past 30 years as a musician. Still, swings and roundabouts - they have played with and met lots of their heroes and done gigs and been to places that I can only dream about...

BTW - I restrung the bass yesterday and, yes, it does feel tighter and more responsive! Of course, that could be partly because I have used stiffer strings (DR Low Riders) but it certainly does have a different feel to it... No idea if this will influence the sound in any way, but I have a rehearsal with one band on Tuesday an two gigs with another next weekend so I shall see then...

I was being facetious – did I really need to add a smiley?? Not strictly about songwriting, but still pertinent… [url="http://www.audioprointernational.com/news/read/ben-hammond-public-misconception-of-the-music-industry/06700"]http://www.audioproi...-industry/06700[/url]

Perhaps there should be an hourly rate for songwriters, where they are paid for the quantity of their output rather than how good or successful their songs are??

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1389478640' post='2334714'] So an element, the song, that is essential for the covers band, is the only element not compensated. They get the song for free. But without it they have nothing to perform. [/quote] But the writer is paid for the performance of their song, via the PRS licence - it's just the Landlord pays for it rather than the covers band (who would otherwise have to factor this cost into the fee that they would have to charge the pub)

[quote name='Mark Dyer' timestamp='1389365121' post='2333392'] I've strung the Jazz both ways and not noticed any difference in sound, maybe, and I might be imagining it, but through-the-body stringing does seem to give the string a little more tension, a tighter feel? I read somewhere that some slap players string the E & A through the bridge and the D & G through the body, but that just confused me when I tried it. [/quote] A slightly tighter feel is all I'm hoping for, as the Bishop said to the Actress! I will try and re-string the bass over the weekend and see how it goes...

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1389382058' post='2333748'] Definitely agree with that, I found some comments rather ill considered in fact damn right rude (I brought a comfort strap and apparently put it on the wrong way round! his comment to someone down the phone " he doesn't even know which way round a comfort strap should go") err actually no and I still put it on which ever way feels best but he does know his stuff and he wants you to buy the right gear for you, enjoy your visit and wear a thick skin in advance [/quote] Actually, I find his approach rather refreshing. Far better than some salesman talking b0110cks trying to tell me that there is no difference between Lakland Skyline basses (which he stocks) and US made Laklands (which he doesn't) except for price! Gimme a break...

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1389381979' post='2333746'] Seems a fair summary to me, though you missed out the arrogance of MPs accepting an 11% pay rise under the same circumstances. [/quote] I wouldn't argue with you there! Going back to the OP, I've been reading the (rather fascinating) interview with the three members of the Police that started all this. It does seem that the interview was laced with a large dose of black humour / alcohol and apparently Sting does give a significant share of his Police publishing royalties (15% each) to Summers and Copeland, which seems fair enough. Perhaps Sting isn't such a bad chap after all...!

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1389378809' post='2333673'] How could the banks 'demand' anything of the taxpayers? More likely, I suspect, that they knew full well that they were so important to our current society (however right or wrong we think that may be) that they knew that government would not dare risk the wrath of the general public by letting their puny savings disappear as the banks sank without trace. Would you rather lose your music collection or all your money overnight? I can't see much public support for bailing out a bankrupt former-millionaire musician can you? [/quote] I don’t think there was much support from the public to bail out millionaire bankers to be honest, even if there was little alternative! I think that the whole affair demonstrated the impotence of the Government when dealing with the banking sector that had become too powerful and the folly of previous administrations who failed to regulate the industry a long time before for fear of angering the golden goose! It also demonstrated the arrogance of the banking sector when they attempted to return to the massive bonus culture, whilst the country is still reeling from the damage that the meltdown that their industry had caused…

Some people seem to be very much undervaluing signwriting here, because somehow they van not equate it with a 9 to 5 job. I struggle to understand this – surely if you create something of value then you should continue to benefit from it for as long as it is of value! It is irrelevant if it took you 30 minutes or three months to write that song, the only thing that matters is how good that song is ! I thought that the point of the OP was about Sting / Andy Summers and how different parts of the process are rewarded? Why does the guy who writes down the lyrics and melody get 100% of the spoils and the guy who came up with the guitar hook that turned it from just another pop song into a massive hit get nothing??

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1389356354' post='2333184'] I'm not convinced about 'right and proper' but it is consistent, which is why I find it curious that we're generally happy to slag off bankers' bonuses while admiring Noddy Holder for making half a million, or whatever, every Christmas on the back of something he did 30 odd years ago. [/quote] Well, you see that Noddy Holder created a very good song that caught the imagination of the public and was generally beneficial in a modest way to society. Whereas, certain elements of the banking profession pursued a high risk, short-term strategy to maximise their bonuses that created a mound of toxic debt. This plunged the country into a dreadful recession, causing many other people who never ever benefitted from their rather shady endeavours to lose their livelihoods. Also, as far as I am aware Mr Holder has never been declared bankrupt then demanded that the taxpayer pay off his debts whilst allowing him to continue to receive his huge royalties…